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My uncle likes some things but not others.

  • He likes toast but not cereal.
  • He likes bicycles but not motorbikes.
  • He likes ice but not water.
  • He likes lamps but not lava lamps.
  • He likes claw hammers but not spirit levels.

What types of things does he like?

blackjack_sparrow
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2 Answers2

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I think the answer is

Solids only

He likes toast but not cereal.

Both breakfasts, but he likes the one with no liquid - milk.

He likes bicycles but not motorbikes.

Both bikes, but one without liquid - gasoline.

He likes ice but not water.

Ice is the solid form of a liquid - water.

He likes lamps but not lava lamps.

Both lamps, but he likes the one with no liquid - water mixed with mineral oils + liquid carbon.

He likes claw hammers but not spirit levels.

Both construction tools, but he likes the one with no liquid - ethanol.

Puzzledoug360
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  • rot13 (Nabgure jnl bs fnlvat guvf pbhyq vapyhqr 'fbyvqf.' I may just edit my answer to say so) – Puzzledoug360 Mar 29 '22 at 03:17
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    Not sure this works. ROT13(Ovplpyrf hfr bvy sbe yhoevpngvba whfg yvxr zbgbeovxrf.) – fljx Mar 29 '22 at 08:47
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    Nygubhtu prernyf ner trarenyyl rngra jvgu zvyx vg vf abg n arprffnel pbaqvgvba. Gur chmmyr fvzcyl fnl ur qbrf abg yvxr prerny. Vg qbrf abg fnl "ur qbrf abg yvxr "rngvat prerny". Whfg fnlvat – DrD Mar 29 '22 at 12:11
  • Juvyr gubfr ner obgu gehr, gur bowrpgf gung ur qbrf abg yvxr nyy vapyhqr yvdhvqf. Nyfb, QeQ, gur bvy va ovxrf ner abg npghnyyl vafvqr bs gur ovxr (n dhnyvgl bs nyy bs gur guvatf ur qbrf abg yvxr), engure pna or nccyvrq ba gbc bs vg vs arrqrq. – Puzzledoug360 Mar 29 '22 at 14:24
  • rot13 (Vs vg jnfa'g sbe jngre V'q fnl vg unq fbzrguvat gb qb jvgu ercrngrq ibjryf va gur fnzr jbeq.) – David Conrad Mar 30 '22 at 02:16
  • That is a much more in depth and 'riddle-y' answer. – Puzzledoug360 Mar 30 '22 at 02:28
  • @Puzzledoug360 V zrnag sbe uvz gb whfg qvfyvxr yvdhvqf engure guna bayl yvxr fbyvqf, ohg lrnu gung'f evtug. Jryy qbar. – blackjack_sparrow Mar 30 '22 at 04:31
  • ROT13(Zl ovplpyrf nyy unir gur uho trnef ehaavat va na bvy ongu, whfg yvxr gur trneobk ba n zbgbeovxr. Naq jung nobhg gur oenxr syhvq va gur ulqenhyvp qvfx oenxrf ba cerggl zhpu rirel zbqrea zbhagnva ovxr?) – fljx Mar 30 '22 at 07:58
  • ROT13(Gur "pna or nccyvrq ba gbc vs arrqrq" nethzrag nyfb nccyvrf gb gur zvyx gung vfa'g na vagrteny cneg bs prerny, ohg pna or cbherq ba vs qrfverq.) – fljx Mar 30 '22 at 08:07
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    cereal is big stretch- it doesn't have to have a liquid. You can eat raw oats. – user2617804 Mar 30 '22 at 11:22
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    And I eat Toast with Tea all the time! :) – DrD Mar 30 '22 at 14:07
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    The lamp is also a huge stretch. There are things called "oil" lamps. – Varun W. Mar 30 '22 at 15:00
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I wonder if it is as simple as

He likes things with shorter names (total number of letters)

TOAST (5) < CEREAL (6), BICYCLES (8) < MOTORBIKES (10), ICE (3) < WATER (5), LAMPS (5) < LAVA LAMPS (9), CLAW HAMMERS (11) < SPIRIT LEVELS (12)

Andrew Williamson
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    ...but then how come he likes bicycles, but doesn't like water? Based on your logic, if one option was lava lamps and if the other option was supermarket, he would like the lava lamps. But this does not make sense as it explicitly says that he dislikes lava lamps. +1 for the ingenuity of this answer, but I would bet that this is not the pattern that the OP was looking for here. – Joe Kerr Mar 30 '22 at 01:28
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    @user1 given the lack of other options I think the OP does not compare two random things. Just things of the same family. – Varun W. Mar 30 '22 at 01:47